Mayor Steve Bach will open the ceremony, which will include remarks from Karen Palus, Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services; Cheryl McCullough, Senior Sales Manager with the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Jason McCoy with Triple Crown Sports. A “first pitch” from the speakers will conclude the ceremony.

The Challenge at Pikes Peak from Triple Crown Sports baseball tournament will take place before and after the ceremony, with over 100 teams playing throughout the weekend.

About the Skyview Sports Complex remodel:

The Skyview Sports Complex includes 6 fields, 2 wheelchair fields, a playground, a maintenance building, restrooms, and a restaurant, encompassing a total of approximately 41 acres.

The complex was selected for the conversion to artificial turf fields because the windy conditions and other challenges made it difficult to grow a consistent and playable stand of natural grass at the site. This, plus the fact that the complex is lighted, affording extended playing opportunities, made Skyview the obvious choice for the investment.

The project was made possible as a result of a vote of the people in April, 2013 that changed the TOPS ordinance to allow the parks portion of the tax to be spent on the maintenance, repair, and renovation of all parks within the City system. The vote took effect retroactive to January 2013. The resulting available funds made the modifications to the Skyview complex possible.

The change from natural grass to artificial turf will save the City approximately $110,000 annually in maintenance costs, including water, fertilizer, irrigation maintenance, infield and warning track maintenance, mowing, and overseeding.

The artificial turf reduces the amount of water used by approximately 8.8 million gallons annually, saving the City over $75,000.

The artificial turf used is a state-of-the-art product that uses a crumb rubber infill to lessen the impact of running on the knees and hips of the players. The turf in the infield and warning track area is slightly shorter than the outfield turf. In the infields, this was done to better simulate the bounce of the ball to what one would experience with a traditional clay infield. The shorter turf on the warning tracks was done for safety reasons so the change may be felt underfoot, warning the player that they are nearing a fence.

Having the artificial turf expands the various uses that can be played at the park, thereby extending the playing season. The Parks Department plans to reduce some of the load absorbed at Memorial Park by moving some youth football and adult flag football programs to Skyview.